“When I see racism and sexism in the gay white male community, I want to grab those people
and shake them, and say, ‘do you not see these connections? Can’t you extrapolate from your
own experience and then put that to work?’”
Bishop V. Gene Robinson (2007: PDF)

Mia Mingus
is an activist, thinker, writer and speaker. Mia identifies as a queer
physically disabled woman of color, Korean American transracial and
transnational adoptee... “Intersectionality” is a Big Fancy Word for My
Life - Excerpt from MBGLTACC 2010 Keynote Address:
To the queer white folks in the audience and the folks who
benefit from white privilege, I would ask you: how are you connecting
your fight for queer liberation to challenging white supremacy?
How are you connecting your queerness to your white privilege? How are
you listening to queer people of color in your world,
supporting them and practicing solidarity? How are you actively
noticing how whiteness, racism and white supremacy play out in queer
communities, student groups, organizations, and movements? Racism and
white supremacy are so pervasive, that we don’t even have to
be consciously or intentionally doing anything to participate in them.
It’s in the air we breathe; it’s how the machine rolls; it’s the
default. It’s backed by everything in our society.

The Queer Case of Racism in the Gay community (2011):
I've found myself confronted with the question of gay racism a lot
lately. Last December I worked on a pitch for a campaign addressing the
issue of isolation brought on by intolerance within the gay community.
And last weekend I was interviewed for a documentary called
SegreGAYtion, due out next year, which explores how divisions
within the gay community -- racial, physical, health-related -- breed
alienation and animosity. It shouldn't be this way but, human nature
being what it is, it's not entirely surprising. It's always disappointed
me to see men and women physically and
emotionally attacked for being gay by straight society turn around and
discriminate against minority groups within the gay community. You'd
think we'd know better...

Choi KH, Han CS, Paul J, Ayala G (2011). Strategies for managing racism and homophobia among U.S. ethnic and racial minority men who have sex with men. AIDS Education and Prevention, 23(2):145-158. Abstract. PDF.Excerpt: In our study, participants indicated that they
actively avoid situations where they might experience racism. The
decision to disassociate from social settings involved how the men
perceived they would be treated at certain places. Often, these places
tended to be areas readily identified as being the “gay” neighborhood.
Men in our study saw these neighborhoods and the businesses within their
limits as catering to gay white men and unwelcoming of men of color.
One African American participant had this to say about the gay
neighborhood in Los Angeles:
“It's hugely discriminatory. The white bigots in West
Hollywood, who should be the most understanding, are the most
bigoted…And so like I haven't gone to West Hollywood.” [45-year-old
African American]...

Staunton, Shawn (2011). Shooting ourselves in the foot: discrimination in the LGBT community. HIV Australia, 7(3): 35-37. PDF Download.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is one environment
that common sense argues would be without prejudice. While huddled
together under a rainbow umbrella of safety, security and inclusion, how
can one group of persecuted people go on to discriminate against
members of the same group in so called ‘safe environments’? How is it
that a gay man who is denied the same rights as straight people, who is
publicly humiliated and even physically attacked based on his sexuality,
then goes on to discriminate against another gay man based on the
colour of his skin, or his religion, or discriminates against a lesbian
based on her gender? How can a group that is subject to fear and
ignorance experience fear and ignorance of transgender people? This is a
question that the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities was
seeking to understand when it rolled out its 2007 Pride Festival
community campaign and its discrimination in the LGBT community
survey... In surveying the community, people identified experiencing
negative outcomes such as suicidal thoughts and depression, low
self-esteem and anxiety as a result of discrimination from other LGBT
people. Along with self-harm, suicide attempts and drug and alcohol
dependence are all effects which have been linked with the experience of prejudice and discrimination...

Tackling Racism (2008, Australia)
Gary Lo has experienced more racism within Sydney’s gay community than
he has in the mainstream community... All this came as a shock to Lo,
25, when he first hit the scene. When you come out you experience so
much rejection and ostracism in the wider community, and you look on the
gay community as this haven you can escape to and expect it to be
welcoming and accepting and loving, Lo told Sydney Star Observer. Then
you go out and you get racial slurs and you think maybe that was just
one night. So you go again and it happens again, and again and again,
and it eats away at your self-esteem. Then you start to internalise it.
You think, maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m not pretty enough, he said. Then I
started talking to other Asian people and they said they go through the
same thing. I realised it’s a bigger problem. It’s a systemic problem.
It’s a complex issue... It seems like anything goes with the gay
community when it comes to race, he said. Maybe it’s because there’s a
sexual hierarchy of desirability on the gay scene. And Asians rank
pretty low on that. No one talks about it but it’s pretty well
understood...

The Two-spirited Rebirth of Indigenous Nations:
An Interview with Waawaate Fobister – Stu Marvel (2009).
As Western colonists eventually poured off their boats and onto the
shores of what is now Canada, they brought along a cargo of relentless
dichotomies that explained to them how the world worked. Man over woman,
mind over body, life over death, light over dark, humans over nature.
The colonial encounter with Indigenous peoples encouraged white
Christian men to place themselves on the upper half of this schema, and
to construct a global hierarchy within which they stood supreme. Through
the denigration of ‘savage’ peoples to a lower order of nature, a host
of new racist, heterosexist and classist categories were invented to
prop up European society at the apex of human history. A central goal of
this imperial project was to make the world over in Europe’s image,
bringing ‘civilization’ to all and installing three primary virtues at
the heart of assimilationist ideology: the superiority of nuclear family
patriarchy, the importance of land ownership (preferably when owned by
Europeans!) and the infinite wonders of capitalism. The determined
elevation of these values over Aboriginal understandings of kinship,
harmony with the land, communally held property and – importantly – a
respect for gender variance encouraged Western settlers to hoist aloft
the banner of a Canadian federation. Amidst the heat of genocide and
gendering a country was born. These violent legacies are today being
challenged, however, ...

The recent launch of Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” campaign on MTV networks is
failing to gain momentum among progressives because the campaign itself
is myopic. While I applaud Savage for responding to the increasing
number of gay and lesbian suicides that often follow bullying and
violence, the framing of this campaign gives me pause. The campaign was
developed in response to a culmination of the heartrending stories of
gay and lesbian youth suicides (some of whom were youth of color-many of
which have historically been unable to get national or even local media
attention) within the media that reached its apex with the tragic death
of Tyler Clementi, a white gay male.

Indeed,
when we think of victims of homophobia-induced violence, many US
citizens can easily recall the names of white gay males Tyler Clementi
and Matthew Shepard but not Sakia Gunn, a black working class lesbian or Brandon White,
a black gay youth. Why is that? Because many of the news stories
prioritized within gay media outlets are framed by folk who seem to have
a limited platform that favors particular persons, namely, middle-class
white gay males, over some others. Savage and other middle-upper class
gay white men benefit from this form of commodification. It is a hard
truth that I, too, have to confront.

It is important, then, that we challenge Savage and his politics. He
fails to recognize that the popularity of the campaign and its
legitimacy depend on the very subtle exclusion of non-white and
non-bourgeois bodies. Moreover, the movement has garnered international
endorsement by politicians and celebrities because being gay in America,
in the West, somehow speaks to the democratization of what was once
considered radical, namely, gay identity. So, yeah, it gets better for
queer folk in the US context, but which queer folk?

There is no
national campaign for the indeterminable number of Black queer and
transgender men and women that have been killed or gone missing across
the country. This is not because many have not tried to create such, but
because the media, and liberal gays who shape it, like Savage, don’t
seem to care...

15th Annual Creating Change Conference Takes Place Nov.
6-10.The 2002 NGLTF Conference Theme is 'Building an Anti-Racist
Movement'."Never in the history of our movement has such a large,
multi-racial GLBT gathering focused onthe impact of racism and the building of an anti-racist
movement," said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive
Director Lorri L. Jean. "Institutionalized racism is one of the most
significantfactors hindering our success as a movement and if we
were unified as a community,we could better pursue and achieve our goals."

The AVP marked the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(Sunday 21st March 2004) by calling for local GLBT action to address
racism
and sexual racism which Co-Convenors Jill Wood & Greg Adkins said
"excludes people & forces some of our brothers & sisters to
be invisible
- almost like forcing them back into a closet all over again".

SAGE USA (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders, 2013). Health Equity and LGBT Elders of Color: Recommendations for Policy and Practice. PDF Download. LGBT elders of color are an important part of this demographic shift—yet
the available research shows that they often face heightened health
disparities and are largely rendered invisible in public policy
discussions on aging.Many LGBT elders of color enter retirement age
without the supports necessary for healthy aging. And a lifetime of
discrimination has adversely affected LGBT elders of color, based on
multiple aspects of their identities, including racial inequality,
anti-LGBT discrimination, challenges based on immigration status, and
more.[Maybe, someday, a report will be written about the effects of white racism on LGBTQ Elders of Color.]

Giwa S, Greensmith C (2012). Race Relations and Racism in the LGBTQ Community of Toronto: Perceptions of Gay and Queer Social Service Providers of Color. Journal of Homosexuality, 59(2): 149-85. Abstract. : "... Employing
interpretive phenomenological analysis, findings indicated
that intergroup and broader systemic racism infiltrates the LGBTQ
community, rendering invisible the lived experiences of many LGBTQ
people of color..." Excerpt: "Events like Gay Pride, similar to Caribana
(which last only couple of days), give a false sense of community
cohesiveness. The challenges facing the gay community are much more
complex than these events can ever address. The absence of social
support [for LGBTQ people of color] within the gay community contributes
to isolation, marginalization, and a lack of sense of belonging."

Skyes H, LIoyd J (2012). Gay Pride on Stolen Land: Homonationalism, Queer Asylum and Indigenous Sovereignty at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Paper submitted for publication to GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. PDF Download. Download Page.
In this paper we examine intersections between homonationalism, sport,
gay imperialism and white settler colonialism. The 2010 Winter Olympics,
held in Vancouver, Canada, produced new articulations between sporting
homonationalism, indigenous peoples and immigration policy. For the
first time at an Olympic/Paralympic Games, three Pride Houses showcased
LGBT athletes and provided support services for LBGT athletes and
spectators. Supporting claims for asylum by queers featured prominently
in these support services. However, the Olympic events were held on
unceded territories of four First Nations, centered in Vancouver which
is a settler colonial city. Thus, we examine how this new form of
‘sporting homonationalism’ emerged upon unceded, or stolen, indigenous
land of British Columbia in Canada. Specifically, we argue that this new
sporting homonationalism was founded upon white settler colonialism and
imperialism—two distinct logics of white supremacy (Smith, 2006)...

Perez N, Torres L (2011). Latina Portrait: Latina Queer Women in Chicago. Chicago: Amigas Latinas & Mujeres Latinas en Acción. PDF
Download.The
survey data reveals that Latina queer women have many experiences of
racism both in interactions with Caucasian LGBTQQ individuals and in
predominantly Caucasian queer settings. Approximately 48 percent (47.7%)
of Latina queer women said that they agreed (either slightly
agreed,moderately agreed, or strongly agreed) when asked if they feel
that there is a lot of racismin the Caucasian LGBTQQ community.
Similarly, 17.2 percent of women agreed that they are discriminated
against because of their race/ethnicity in places specializing in
services for predominantly Caucasian GLBTQ communities. In the space for
additional comments, one respondent explained that she feels there are
very high degrees of racism in Caucasian queer communities. She
reported, “I have personally witnessed a number white [sic] queers
making really racist comments about Blacks and Latino/as- for example, I
have heard people make fun of Latinos for their accent when they speak
English, and make really derogatory comments about them being illegal
immigrants, stealing American jobs, driving down the minimum wage, etc.”

Misawa, Mitsunori (2011). The Intersection of Racist and Homophobic Bullying in Adult and Higher Education.
Paper presented at the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in
Adult, Continuing, Community and Extension Education, Lindenwood
University, St. Charles, MO, September 21-23. PDF
Download. - Misawa, Mitsunori (2010). Racist and Homophobic Bullying in Adulthood: Narratives from Gay Men of Color in Higher Education. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 24(1): 7-23. PDF
Download. PDF Download. "Three
conclusions were drawn from the study: 1) The bullying of gay male
faculty of color in academia was prevalent and practiced by White and/or
heterosexual males and females while simultaneously being cloaked in
civility, subjectively applied rules and policies, and enabled by a
cooperatively complicit system; 2) Bullying had a negative cumulative
impact on gay male faculty of color necessitating them to live in
defense of their psychological well-being and academic careers; and 3)
The gay male faculty of color separately and in isolation from other gay
male faculty of color constructed support networks and developed
self-help mechanisms as a way to insure their survival in academia."

double trouble? the health needs of culturally diverse men who have sex with men (2010, Australia, PDF):
Culturally and linguiscally diverse (CALD) men who have sex with men
(MSM) experience discrimination from other MSM in relation to their
ethnicity and from their family and community in relation to their
sexuality. Although they share the same human capacity for adaptation
as anyone else, the added complexity of dealing with discrimination and
exclusion is a challenge and a cause of stress, and it can result in
feelings of shame and silencing of self-expression and social activity.
Social exclusion decreases access to support from friends and
community, and limits opportunities for social learning; in its acute
forms it can precipitate intense emotional crisis, distress and anomie,
which may occasion risk taking... CALD MSM experience racial
discrimination on the gay ‘scene’ (commercial social and sex on
premises venues and community organisations) and online. Discrimination
is often based on stereotypes about gender, associated with their
cultures of origin and physical appearance; although it frequently
takes the form of sexual rejection, community participants also
encountered men who were attracted to them because they match a given
stereotype.

Berlin, Germany:
Do you see any parallels between the majority white queer scene and the
white mainstream gay scene? There are parallels but also differences.
One tends to produce openly racist exclusions, while the other (which
calls itself explicitly antifascist and antiracist) tends to do this in a
hypocritical and coded form, often even as part of a so-called
antiracist politics. This has become very clear with anti-Muslim racism,
which in Berlin manifests itself in indirect and even direct connection
with processes of gentrification. These days I would rather live in
Charlottenburg or Dahlem (white middle-class suburbs) where power is out
in the open. Where I know where I stand in relation to bourgeois whites
as a man of colour. Without any pretense. Sometimes those people can
handle this better than the ‘supercool‘ queers who come here,
appropriate our neighbourhoods and then go to Prinzenbad (a popular
outdoors swimming pool in Kreuzberg) and make fun of the teenagers there
or get scared of them. Another factor is class (laughs). Most of them
are probably middle class. Finally there’s another thing that’s struck
me: Most queers are young and the mainstream gays are often older. This
is my question: Why are queers – and this also goes for many antifascist
activists – mostly young? Where do they go when they’re older? It’s
strange, they disappear when they’re older (laughs).IGLYO Study Session
(2009) - "Intercultural and Ethnic Diversity within LGBTQ Youth
Communities" at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg, France.
About the Study Session: LGBTQ youth is not a homogenous group, but
come in multiple facets from multiple heritages and backgrounds. The
diversity and cultural element to LGBTQ youth is widely
underrepresented within the discussions in and about the LGBTQ
community, both nationally and internationally. There is a lack of
representation of the different equality strands within LGBTQ spaces,
and this translates into smaller initiatives for LGBTQ young people
from different ethnic minorities and those from deprived geographical
or socio-economical areas in Europe. At the same time in many European
societies, different sets of values between immigrant communities,
ethnic minorities and indigenous people manifest themselves. It leads
to a situation in which, sometimes, indigenous LGBTQ people feel that
their achieved emancipation experiences the pressure of a renegotiation
of common societal values. On the contrary, migrant communities and
ethnic minorities often experience a lack of understanding and
tolerance about their own models of sexuality and identity. IGLYO aims
to bring people from seemingly different cultural and/or ethnic
background together to explore the diversity within the LGBTQ
community, exchange ideas and points of views. This will help provide
an environment where IGLYO, together with its member organisations,
start initiating practices that make our work more inclusive and
coherent within different equality strands.

Sonnekus, Theo (2008).
Invisible Queers: Investigating the 'other' Other in gay visual
cultures. Master or Arts Dissertation, University of Pretoria. PDF
Download. Download Page.
"The apparent ‘invisibility’, or lack of representation of black men in
contemporary mainstream gay visual cultures is the primary critical
issue that the study engages with. The study presupposes that the
frequency with which white men appear in popular representations of
‘gayness’ prevails over that of black men. In order to substantiate
this assumption, this study analyses selected issues of the South
African queer men’s lifestyle magazine Gay Pages. Gay visual cultures
appear to simultaneously conflate ‘whiteness’ and normative
homosexuality, while marginalising black gay men by means of
positioning ‘blackness’ and ‘gayness’ as irreconcilable identity
constructs. Images of the gay male ‘community’ disseminated by queer
and mainstream media constantly offer stereotypical, distorted and
race-biased notions of gay men, which ingrain the exclusive cultural
equation of white men and ideal homomasculinity. The disclosure of
racist and selectively homophobic ideologies, which seem to inform gay
visual representation, is therefore the chief concern of the
dissertation..."

Green AI (2008). Health and Sexual Status in an Urban Gay Enclave: An Application of the Stress Process Model. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 49(4): 436-451. From Abstract:
...three years of fieldwork demonstrate a sexual status order that
privileges caucasian, middle-class men in their twenties and early
thirties, and that disadvantages black and Asian men, men over 40 years
of age, and poor men. Men with low sexual status faced significant
stressors in the form of avoidance from others, stigmatization, and
rejection. These stressors, in turn, taxed personal resources,
including self-esteem, sense of social support, and sense of control,
and they also negatively affected emotional states in the form of
depression and anxiety.

Plummer, Mary Dianne (2007). Sexual racism in gay communities: Negotiating the ethnosexual marketplace. PhD. Dissertation, University of Washington. From Abstract:
Participants of color identified internalized sexual racism, decreased
self-esteem, and psychological distress as the primary psychological
consequences of sexual racism. The data analyses revealed
quantitatively and qualitatively distinct racial pressures operating in
the gay community in Seattle. Participants estimated that compared to
the heterosexual community, their gay community was more racially
stratified and exhibited higher rates of sexual racism. They described
the uniquely sexual basis of racial stereotypes and pointed to a skewed
set of social norms operating in the gay community which allow greater
expression of sexual racism than in the heterosexual community...

Kudler, Benjamin A (2007). Confronting Race and Racism: Social Identity in African American Gay Men. Master of Social Owrk Dissertation, Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass. PDF Download. Download Page.
Abstract: This qualitative study examines how race and racism function
in gay communities, looking at factors facing African American gay men
in their identity formation and daily experience. Specifically, this
study has examined the presence of sexual racism, sexualized racial
stereotypes that affect the way men of color are viewed by white gay
men...

Bhattar RG, Victoria NA (2007). Rainbow Rice: A Dialogue between Two Asian American Gay Men in Higher Education and Student Affairs. The Vermont Connection, 28: 39-50. PDF
Download.I
did not see myself or other gay people of color as full members of the
queer community, and thus I fell prey to the racist environment of the
gay culture within which I operated. As I internalized the belief that
queer people of color (QPOCs) are inferior to gay White men, I
unconsciously believed I needed to date a White man to become “full.” I
avoided other QPOCs and only interacted with White men until my junior
year of college.Tucker, Andrew (2009). Framing exclusion in Cape Town's gay village: the discursive and material perpetration of inequitable queer subjects. Area, 41(2): 186-197. Abstract:
Within and beyond geography, there has been a growing concern in
understanding how and why exclusion can occur within ‘gay spaces’, with
a specific focus on Western Europe and North America. Heidi Nast's
(2002 Queer patriarchies, queer racisms, international Antipode 34
874–909) work on the ‘white queer patriarch’ has taken this work
further by exploring the multiple, interrelated, historical and
contemporary factors that can lead to exclusion and exploitation.
Despite growing interest surrounding South Africa's new liberal queer
agenda, issues of contemporary exclusion among queer groups as a direct
result of race and racism have remained relatively unexplored. By
incorporating elements of Nast's schema, this article will examine the
power that exists in the creation and framing of essentialistic ‘white’
and ‘coloured’ queer male subjects in Cape Town's gay village. These
subjects will be shown to simultaneously draw on historical
inequalities while also re-imagining them in contemporary settings to
re-inscribe perceptions of classed and gendered difference. The
creation of such inequitable subjects helps us understand how exclusion
can become real and normalised within a space such as Cape Town's gay
village in a way that draws on a history of material inequalities and
discursive perceptions of race.Raymond HF, McFarland W (2009). Racial mixing and HIV risk among men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior, 13(4): 630-7. PDF
Download. Abstract: We
conducted a cross-sectional survey of MSM... in San Francisco during
2007-2008... The sample of 1,142 MSM was 56% White, 22% Latino, 14%
Asian, and 9% Black and reported on 3,532 sexual partnerships... Black
MSM were reported as the least preferred as sexual partners, believed
at higher risk for HIV, counted less often among friends, were
considered hardest to meet, and perceived as less welcome at the common
venues that cater to gay men in San Francisco by other MSM. Our
findings support the hypothesis that the sexual networks of Black MSM,
constrained by the preferences and attitudes of non-Blacks and the
social environment, are pushed to be more highly interconnected than
other groups with the potential consequence of more rapid spread of HIV
and a higher sustained prevalence of infection. The racial disparity in
HIV observed for more than a decade will not disappear until the
challenges posed by a legacy of racism towards Blacks in the US are
addressed.Gay Porn's Anti-Racism Ambassador, Tré Xavier (2009).

.... Almost as if I'm some kind of Ambassador. And that's the problem ---- I am the ONLY Ambassador.

Many within this industry are aware of the problem of racism in gay
porn, including those who are not racist, yet benefit from it. We speak
about it privately, but when I speak out on the issue in a public forum
like my blog, and a gay porn news sites gets wind of it. I rarely (if
ever) hear of them making any public notice that they agree. When in
all actuality, most of them are most popular than me, so if change can
be incited, they should be the ones speaking up on this. I find that
quite distressing, because in an industry of so many, I become a lone
warrior. And being put in the position of a lone warrior in my fight
against the racism in gay porn makes me feel like a vast majority of
gay porn performers are not men, but stone cold faggots for not using
the power of recognition that they have to start eradicating this
problem. So if you want another reason why I refuse to pay for
American-made gay porn, now you know. It's because I want to watch the
strength of gay MEN fucking, not the weakness of faggots. And yes,
there's that ugly word - "faggots". To haters of that word, I'm not
going over why I differentiate between referring to someone as a "gay
man" while I call someone else a "faggot". Do a search of the word
"faggot" in this blog, and you will find that explanation. But I will
say this much - when your fellow man is being wronged, a man takes a
stand, while faggots hide and act like there's no problem. Therefore,
the ugliness of that word "faggot" fits their ugly act of cowardice,
because while racism itself is unjust, so is the fact that I feel so
alone in this battle. Hence my strong words to express my frustration...

LGBTQ Racial Equity Campaign:
Extensive research shows that racial inequities persist in every
indicator of well-being, including health and wellness, school
readiness, economic success and civic participation, among many others.
Further, funding for LGBTQ people of color has been woefully
inadequate, which profoundly impacts the health of these organizations
and, ultimately, the effectiveness of our broader movements for social
change. Let’s begin redressing these inequities. - Racialicious: Toward a More Colorful Future.

A Different Shade of Queer: Race, Sexuality, and Marginalizing by the Marginalized:
"Shared experiences of oppression rarely lead to sympathy for others
who are also marginalized, traumatized, and minimized by the dominant
society. Rather, all too miserably, those who should naturally join in
fighting discrimination find it more comforting to join their
oppressors in oppressing others. As a gay man of color, I see this on a
routine basis – whether it be racism in the gay community or homophobia
in communities of color..."

Re-historicising 'Racism':
As a gay Aboriginal,
however, in racist, homophobic Australia, [Wayne] King was doubly marginalised
on the basis of both race and sexuality. He experienced racial
prejudice from the gay community, and homophobia amongst sections of
the Aboriginal community. He recalls being picked up by a gay man in a
car, and thrown out again as soon as the man learned he was Aboriginal.
Even more hurtful was his discovery of the depth of racial prejudice
amongst his gay friends: "Rejected and spurned by society for being
homosexual, they had spoken angrily of the discrimination they had to
face. Yet they saw nothing wrong in their attitude towards me; saw
nothing to condemn in themselves... Those white boys in that room
thought that a racist was some yobbo in a blue Chesty Bond singlet,
shorts and thongs with a beer can in one hand, the other scratching his
balls. The subtlety of racism had escaped them. If you had an
education, you couldn't be racist. Terry's racist comment [that the
right place for Aborigines was in the bottom of an ash-tray] had tipped
the scales for me. Gays may have been outsiders, but as a gay
Aborigine, I might as well have been from Mars.""

Chang S, Apostle D (2008). Recommendations from the AGMC Conference, 2004. Gay and Lesbian Issues and Psychology Review, 4(1): 56-60. PDF.
The barriers that many culturally and linguistically diverse GLBTIQ
people face are significant. They are often shunned by their own
families and communities; only then to discover that racism and
intolerance is often as rampant within the gay and lesbian community as
it is within the broader community. Unfortunately there are very few
avenues of support and understanding for people living these
experiences. However, in Australia over the past decade or so, a number
of culturally based GLBTIQ groups have formed of their own accord. In
Victoria alone there are now at least 20 groups representing over 34
cultures. These groups have traditionally formed to provide social
support to GLBTIQ people living with the often unique issues of coming
from a diverse cultural background. These groups provide an important
ongoing support and developmental role within the gay and lesbian
community...

The gay Black male research participants disclosed that because of
Black stereotypes, gay stereotypes, acceptance with stipulations in the
gay community and the black community, racism in the gay community,
homophobia in the Black community, and perceptions of blackness and
masculinity’s affect on gay Black men…gay Black men live their lives
with various restrictions. In other words, gay Black men do not appear
to be living their lives the way they feel they ought to be living it.
This work is important because a majority of the participants stated
they wished to live restriction free lives. They are not able to fully
be themselves in their daily lives and often have to assimilate to be
accepted.

The idea of internal colonialism has been popular in both social
science writings and political discourse. This paper attempts to
provide a new way to think about this concept in the realm of sexual
communities. Specifically, I engage the topic of racism in the queer
community, arguing that white gays and lesbians are active participants
in larger U.S. internal colonialism of people of color by their denial
of race differences along sexual orientation lines and by their use of
racist political rhetoric to further sexual rights for their group. The
raced dimensions of queer theory and of mainstream gay and lesbian
politics are linked to the idea of internal colonialism, making the
argument that sexual communities aid the U.S. nationalist project of
racism.

Engebretsen, Elisabeth Lund (2008). Queer ethnography in theory and practice: Reflections on studying sexual globalization and women’s queer activism in Beijing. Graduate Journal of Social Science, (2): 88-116. PDF
Download.
"This paper addresses the problem of the cross-cultural study of
sexuality in global times. I take issue with the inherent bias in
analytical frameworks and theoretical assumptions that typically
structure Western studies of non-normative sexuality in ‘other’ places,
and provide a critical reconsideration of the challenges to queer
studies of transnational sexuality... I conclude that ethnography as
method, theory, and academic-activist ethics, provides an invaluable
tool for the study of transnational sexualities. It helps us move
beyond the binaries of absolute and categorical differences between a
Western queer self and the non-Western lesser other."

Tori DeAngelis (2009). Unmasking 'racial micro aggressions'. Monitor, 40(2). Full Text.
"Some racism is so subtle that neither victim nor perpetrator may
entirely understand what is going on—which may be especially toxic for
people of color."

Introduction

A gay youth of colour was speaking with
sadness about his experiences in Calgary's gay community: "I seems like
the racism is worse here than in the greater community." In an effort to
make the world not seem as bad as it was being experienced, I noted that
his impression may have resulted from relating much more closely with white
individuals in the gay community, thus making their "racism" more apparent.
In the greater community, there is greater distance between males and a
racist white male may not be placed in a situation where his racism becomes
apparent.

The most troubling aspect of this
youth's experiences, however, was that white gay individuals generally
had a history of not being appreciated - and even being hated - 'only'
because they were different, and they also seemed to have learned nothing
from this. These white gay males were, in fact, harming others, as they
had been harmed, 'simply' because they were "different." Most troubling
was the fact that the gay community was giving its tacit approval to racism
by ignoring the issue. Little had therefore been learned from their own
lives, except for being much like their abusers, or the ones who gave their
tacit approval to such abuses.

As I collected information on suicide
problems of sexual minority youth, I became alert to the fact that no one
was specifically exploring the suicide problems of North American GLB (gay,
lesbian, bisexual) youth of colour, but this did not mean relevant data
was not available. For example, one study produced data indicating elevated
lifetime incidences of suicidality for 137 GB male youth of colour compared
to their white counterpart: 40% (10/25) vs 28% (31/112), respectively (Remafedi
et al., 1991). A sample of 1,925 adult lesbian taken in the 1980s
produced a lifetime suicide attempt incidence of 28% for lesbians of colour
compared to an incidence of 16% for white lesbians (Bradford
and Ryan, 1988).

White racism is a widely reported
to exist in North American gay communities, and the same unsavory attribute
also exists in England where gay communities are said to be also intolerant
to other human attributes within their group:

As
with other minorities within minorities, gay Asians face hostility from
their own community and from the gay scene ["the racist gay scene"]
they
turn to for help. Like gay Christians, gay Tories or even gay football
supporters, Rajvir faces ignorance whichever way he turns. Makes you feel
proud doesn't it? (Article by Chris
Morris). [This intolerance and related abuses also applies to "bisexual"
individuals and, in gay male communities, another hatred(?) seems to be
directed at the more feminine gay males: 1,
2,
3.]

Racism in predominantly white gay
/ lesbian communities has many faces, the most evident being that almost
all GLB organizations will totally ignore white racism - avoid any mention
of it (at least publicly) - and certainly not have any relevant information
and resources made available on paper or on their web pages. Recently,
I contacted two GLB organizations in a large British city - the major organization
in the city and the one at a university - about resources which may be
available to a male university student from an Asian country who was having
homosexuality-related problems. The 'communication' result was that their
complete lack of information on white racism, and the lack of related resources,
was "not" to be given a "racism" interpretation, and that such an inference
would be met with a refusal to reply to my emails seeking some confirmation
that the student in question would not be subjected to racism-related harm
if he ventured into contacting these organizations.

An important part of counselling
is to NOT refer a homosexually oriented individual
- including the ones of colour - to any group where, in addition
to existing problems in need of exploration, they would be made to experience
additional problems, such as the harm associated with white racism. In
this respect, we can imagine such a youth who is depressed - maybe suicidal
- because he is having problems with the homosexual part of himself, and
that he is also being rejected / abused / harmed by his own family because
they now know what was long suspected. In such a case, should a professional
in a counselling capacity refer this individual to a predominantly white
GLB youth group if it is known that they are part of the reported predominantly
white "racist gay scene" which generally ignores white racism issues and
the related harm being done to others?

For mainstream counsellors, such
referrals would likely be unethical, and even more so if the individual
was depressed about his racial / ethnic group hating him simply because
he was different, thus making realize that little hope in the world can
be had given that his own group has learned nothing from what they often
complained about: being abused / harmed by white people simply because
they are different. For such a youth, venturing into predominantly white
gay communities could become the straw that broke the camel's back in terms
of having hopes for a better world, given that gay people also seem to
have learned nothing from having been abused for "being different." Would
not, however, university-based GLB groups be different? Maybe not, as Paul
reported in 1993:

A gay students' organization
provided Paul Fernandez, 28, with his first experience as a gay person
of color. A white-dominated group, this organization proved to be an unpleasant
situation for Fernandez. "It was the most painful experience I've had as
a gay person." he recalls (Diversity,
Division, and Racism in Calgary's Gay and Lesbian Community).
Paul continues: "Whites don't have to struggle with internalized racism,"
he says. "Whites are experts on racism, shouldn't they know it better themselves?
Why
don't they form their own group and examine their racism?"

The citation is from one of two first
articles - the other is Liberating
Ourselves by Akash D'Silva - to report on the rampant racism which
had not been openly spoken about in Calgary's gay and lesbian community,
and there was a fallout from the event. By 1995/96, Kevin and others were
leaving Calgary, and Paul was soon to follow. The hope was that, by going
to a larger city like Toronto, there would likely be less harm inflicted
on them. My response to this, however, was to emphasize that their departure
would greatly please the most extreme white racists in Calgary's gay community
(and the lesser racists too), meaning here that their wish was to NOT
have individuals of colour in the midst, or the fewer the better!

It is most interesting that the issue
of white racism in Calgary's gay and lesbian community has not been tackled
in any significant way in gay / lesbian publications since 1993, and the
implications are self-evident. With respect to the two articles referenced
here, I asked a Vietnamese gay male doing his master's thesis at the University
of Calgary to comment on their relevance to the present racism situation
in Calgary's gay and lesbian community. His response was that about 90%
of what was written still applies, noting here that one could not expect
100% accuracy in such articles written at any time. Furthermore, the editor
of the magazine also apologized for problems with the main article, such
as quoting interviewed individuals out of context (Letter
to Editor and Reply).

It is also amazing that, on the Internet,
information exists on racism in predominantly white gay and lesbian communities,
but that no one seems to have taken the initiative of collating the relevant
information and making it available. A number of "racism" reasons may account
for this; the motivations of white gay / lesbian individuals are self evident,
but why have homosexually oriented individuals of colour have not done
this? One answer comes to mind from a conversation I had with Paul Fernandez
before he left Calgary. White gay and lesbian community leaders appear
to have a number of ways to tell their "of colour" counterparts: "We are
the dominant game in town and should you make us look bad by telling the
truth about your experiences with our racism, which includes the fact that
we ignore such issues, there will be a price to pay."

Modern racists (white supremacists?),
however, cannot afford to be as honest as their forefathers, and other
ways have therefore evolved to maintain their "supremacy status" - an expression
used by Mistinguette Smith Malone (1997) in - Confronting
Racism - Elimination of White Supremacy essential to Coalition, Church,
and Society. (Address to the National Gathering (of the UCCL/GC)
plenary on July 1, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio. Originally printed in WAVES,
the national newsletter of the United Church of Christ Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay/ Bisexual/ Transgender Concerns, September 1997, Vol. XXIV, No. 3.)

I was asked to speak
to you today about confronting racism. I want to begin by letting you know
that this will not be an opportunity to feel guilty. Confronting racism
is work we must do to survive. Feeling guilty is not a good strategy for
survival. It is an outstanding way to paralyze change. Your guilt is of
no use to me, and ultimately, of no use to you. So I invite you to abandon
it as we move forward. Now, we have that out of the way...

I like to use the phrase white
supremacy precisely because folks are uncomfortable with the phrase. Racism
is a more polite word, and does not make us think of men wearing white
hoods. I will use, and will encourage you to use, this phrase when talking
about racism.

White supremacy is a phrase that
makes things clear. It keeps us from deceiving ourselves about what the
problem is, and whether it is urgent, and whether it is our job to do anything
about it. The phrase "white supremacy" makes clear with whom we are allied
when we are too tired, or too confused, or too guilty, or too ignorant
to resist racism.

It is difficult
- maybe impossible - for people of colour to win in modern "white supremacist"
North America (which likely also applies to most of Europe and Australia),
and this is a salient part of the documentary Blue Eyed which features
Jane Elliott. She learned firsthand about white racism / supremacy via
becoming defined as a "niggar lover" and then experiencing herself and
her family being punished accordingly in both overt and covert ways. This
experience sensitized her to the new ways white people have implemented
to maintain their supremacy status vis-à-vis people of colour:

Jane Elliott

Jane Elliott's
approach is especially relevant today. It demonstrates irrefutably that
even without juridical discrimination, hate speech, lowered expectations
and dismissive behaviour can have devastating effects on minority achievement.
Black members of the BLUE EYED group forcefully remind whites that they
undergo similar stresses, not just for a few hours in a controlled experiment,
but every day of their lives. And Elliott points out that sexism, homophobia
and ageism work in the same way (Blue
Eyed - a Film by Bertram Verhaag).

A central theme was that, as a rule,
with modern white racism, the individual of colour is still set up to lose.
Paul Fernandez also understood how this works in white dominated gay and
lesbian organizations. For example, to delude others with respect to their
white racism, they will use tokenism with two results. The individual of
colour will detect their lack of sincerity with respect to equality and
leave (which has also included leaving the city of Calgary for some "of
colour" community leaders), or the individual will fail to "see" the dishonesty
for reasons related to internalized racism - self-hatred - which produces
acceptance by white supremacists given that the individual of colour lives
up to white expectations; this includes creating the delusion what white
racism is minimal. As Elliott noted in the documentary, in the land of
traditional white supremacy, the individual "of colour" is placed in a
"lose / lose" situation - "you can't win" - with winning, such as
being a token individual in white dominated GLB organizations, being more
like "losing." Have predominantly white GLB organizations in North America
'really' been acting in such ways?

Keith Boykin: For the first time, the Human
Rights Campaign is contacting LGBT leaders of color to ask for their
help on a new "landmark diversity initiative." It's about time they finally
got around to this, but it's still too little, too late. The week before
I heard about HRC, I was approached by a board member of GLAAD
looking for ways to recruit blacks to its board.

People of colour have been greatly
harmed in predominantly white societies and, from past experiences with
the not-so-honest 'good faith' of white GLB community leaders, many are
reluctant to accept such 'punishing' invitations. Boykin continues:

So how do white organizations
change if people of color don't help them out? In reality, blacks and other
people of color have already provided the help, and now the white community
needs to do the serious work of paying attention... For many people of
color, it's too late in the day for white organizations to expect sympathy.
Mandy Carter, a veteran black lesbian progressive activist, says "the less
skeptical side of me would say there needs to be the bridge builders, but
my days of bridge building are getting damn near over." ...At this stage
in the process, the responsibility to educate white people rests squarely
with white people, not with people of color.

Related information and resources have
been made available on these web pages and it would be wise to all concerned
- and especially white individuals of all sexual orientations in the "helping"
professions - to begin their education by seriously considering the words
of F. Kenneth
Freedman in Multicultural
Counseling.

First, racism is a basic
and integral part of U.S. life and permeates all aspects of our culture
and institutions. Second, Whites are socialized into U.S. society and,
therefore, inherit the biases, stereotypes, and racist attitudes, beliefs,
and behaviors of the society. In other words, all Whites are racist whether
knowingly or unknowingly. Third, how Whites perceive themselves as racial
beings seems to follow an identifiable sequence that can be called stages.
Fourth, the stage of White racial identity development in a cross-cultural
encounter (counseling minorities, counselor training, etc.) affects the
process and outcome of an interracial relationship. Last, the most desirable
stage is the one where the White person not only accepts his/her Whiteness,
but defines it in a nondefensive and nonracist manner (Sue
and Sue, 1990, p. 113).

At issue is how to work with clients
from different cultural backgrounds, respect their customs and culture,
not allow racism and judgments to color the sessions, and still be of help...
The flip side of the coin is the "color-blind" approach to race relations.
For counseling it could spell disaster. Sue and Sue (1990) see race as
an integral part of one’s identity, and that "those who advocate a ‘color-blind’
approach seem to operate under the assumption that ‘Black is bad’ and that
to be different is to be deviant" (p. 77). My Inupiaq friend is very attuned
to the racist overtones in a conversation, and when he raises the issue
he is generally met with hostility. I suppose one reason for this might
be his presentation. He is generally gentle but can be abrasive. On the
other hand, the strength of people’s reaction seems to overshoot the intent
of the confrontation. My opinion is that the people he confronts generally
don’t like looking in a mirror and seeing racism. Ironically, they try
to be "color-blind" missing all the while the beauty of being able to see
and appreciate human colors - meaning diversity. A person may or may not
identify with their racial heritage, but to deny that it exists (for a
person who is culturally different or for a counselor) is burying one’s
head in the sand.

Why, however, would the ones in the
"helping" professions, including teachers, need such an education. Someday,
they may encounter a grade-4 boy who is Black and will NOT
tell you why he threw himself in front of a car to end his life, as it
happened in Calgary. The following are the words of his mother quoted in
The
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem - Appendix
F:

He was chased home, beaten-up
and taunted by groups of other little boys. He was ostracized, and
called horrible and vicious names. The friends he did have were mostly
little girls, a lot of whom acted as his protectors.

I always felt so badly for him.
He seemed so lonely and unhappy. He used to ask me what he could
do to get friends, and make people like him. I of course told him
to "JUST BE YOURSELF, AND EVERYONE WILL LIKE YOU,"
That was the advice my mother gave me. I know now that advice was
useless to him at that time. He was thinking to himself "OH
NO, THAT'S THE ONE THING I CAN'T BE."

...My son and I have spent
many hours talking about his experiences growing up. They both sadden
and anger me. He knew who he was at 7 years-old. His very first
crushes were on other little boys. Since he had already been taught
heterosexism, he thought there must be something wrong with him even though
the crushes he was experiencing felt perfectly natural to him. The
idea that something was wrong was continually reinforced by name-calling
and harassment from other little boys. The teachers saw it and did
nothing to stop it. Everything he saw on television and the media
portrayed gay people as either funny or sick in some way. All comments
he heard were either negative or nasty, including ones made by members
of his own family. He had no positive gay role models to look up
to; felt completely alone, and was sure he must be a really bad person.

...At ten years old, my son started
acting differently, became quiet, and lost his sense of humour. His
school work suffered, and he talked about not wanting to be around anymore.
After jumping out in front of a car that barely missed him, we took him
to the Sick Children's Hospital for counselling. He still could not
tell anyone what was really wrong. He now says he was really waiting
for someone, a counsellor, a teacher, or me, to ask "THE
QUESTION," He said if anyone had appeared to understand that a kid
could be gay he might have opened up and talked about it. It was
as if the issue didn't exist. He managed to convince the counsellors
that everything was just fine. They told me I was probably overreacting
and maybe he was just doing this for attention!

...My son was, and still is, a
wonderful, handsome, intelligent, kind, funny, loving and talented
young man. He has won many awards for his achievements, and was always
well thought of by adults. He always tried to do his best to please
everyone! He was wonderful, but had difficulty accepting a compliment.
His confidence and self-image were so low that he could not believe he
had any worth. He had been taught to hate himself. The school
system and society in general had failed him since the time he was a small
child. It had failed to protect him from the physical and emotional
abuse he suffered at the hands of other children. It failed to build
his self-esteem by making him feel like a freak. It either ignored
that homosexuality existed or taught him that it was abnormal to be one.
It made him feel he had to hide himself away with no hope for a life.

There is much to study and learn about
GLBT children and adolescents of colour, and their adult counterparts,
who may have considered, attempted, or even committed suicide for a number
of reasons, possibly including racism they experienced after they ventured
into predominantly white GLB communities. Obtaining information about suicide
problems for GLBT "of colour" individuals, however, has been quite difficult,
but some information exists:

Because gay and lesbian
youth in general face extremely high suicide rates, Asian American gay
or lesbian youth may be at extra risk. Many will not consider coming out
to their families because the cultural stigma is so strong (Asian
Cultural Diversity Roundtable, Session 3 N/A: Depression and Suicidal
Ideation among Young Asian Americans, April 12, 2000)

They know that I'm here at UCSB,
doing my Ph.D. in sociology... I have heard so many stories of Asian American
gays, lesbians and bisexuals who feel left out of Asian American communities,
that they become ashamed of being Asian American, or that they commit suicide
because they don't know of any other Asian American gays, lesbians or bisexuals
(Asian
Scope. 1997 N/A: Author only identified as "gay
Pilipino American man." (White Print on white)

Born in 65
Child of ten percent
First orgasm in 75
Child of ten percent
Tiny hands discovered un-chartered
territory
Child of ten percent
Grew up in suburbia of industrial
country
Where dog-eater and Vietnam-Mit
(*) were daily name'sake
Parental dictation
"Integrate
Work hard
Marry, son"
Child of ten percent
One afternoon in 81
Romantic ideals crashed on wet pissy
floor of tea room near train station
Where men of many colors waited,
licking their lips
Mothers always knew, understood
Tenderly joking
"Should have killed at birth"
Father, simple
Man of action and not of words
"Get out"
Child of ten percent
Among his quiet, unspoken kind
Child of ten percent
Learned to cook, to clean, to fix-up
things
And at nite, he even rocked himself
to sleep
Whispering self-ownership
self-reliance
self-pride
Until 12th April of 93
Child of ten percent
Was told on Eyewitness News
Of his one percent
Out of windows he climbed
Child of ten percent
Screaming head down
YOU CAN NOT DENY MINE
LOVE
RESPECT
EXISTENCE
Child of ten percent
No longer
Man of millions

(*) Mit: 1. Jack fruit, a tropical
fruit with a yellow meat.
2. Term refers to Vietnamese immigrants
living in France/ short for Annamite, pronounced [] used by French colonialists
during their conquest of then Viet Nam.

It it hoped that you will enjoy your
learning adventure in this part of a web site designed to educate especially
professionals - but also others - about the problems GLBT individuals "of
all colours" may be experiencing at various ages, one focus being one of
the most serious for youth: suicide. Additional resources at this site
related of GLBT "of colour" in predominantly white countries are:

As the only racial group that
never suffers systemic racism, whites are in denial about its impact.by Martin Jacques - Saturday
September 20, 2003 - The Guardian

Excerpts:

I always found race difficult to
understand. It was never intuitive. And the reason was simple. Like every
other white person, I had never experienced it myself: the meaning of colour
was something I had to learn...

In our 14 months in Hong Kong, I
learned some brutal lessons about racism. First, it is not the preserve
of whites. Every race displays racial prejudice, is capable of racism,
carries assumptions about its own virtue and superiority. Each racism,
furthermore, is subtly different, reflecting the specificity of its own
culture and history.

Second, there is a global racial
hierarchy that helps to shape the power and the prejudices of each race.
At the top of this hierarchy are whites. The reasons are deep-rooted and
profound. White societies have been the global top dogs for half a millennium,
ever since Chinese civilisation went into decline. With global hegemony,
first with Europe and then the US, whites have long commanded respect,
as well as arousing fear and resentment, among other races. Being white
confers a privilege, a special kind of deference, throughout the world,
be it Kingston, Hong Kong, Delhi, Lagos - or even, despite the way it is
portrayed in Britain, Harare. Whites are the only race that never suffers
any kind of systemic racism anywhere in the world. And the impact of white
racism has been far more profound and baneful than any other: it remains
the only racism with global reach.

Being top of the pile means that
whites are peculiarly and uniquely insensitive to race and racism, and
the power relations this involves. We are invariably the beneficiaries,
never the victims. Even when well-meaning, we remain strangely ignorant.
The clout enjoyed by whites does not reside simply in an abstraction -
western societies - but in the skin of each and every one of us. Whether
we like it or not, in every corner of the planet we enjoy an extraordinary
personal power bestowed by our colour. It is something we are largely oblivious
of, and consequently take for granted, irrespective of whether we are liberal
or reactionary, backpackers, tourists or expatriate businessmen...

Race remains the great taboo. Take
the case of Hong Kong. A conspiracy of silence surrounded race. As the
British departed in 1997, amid much self-congratulation, they breathed
not a word about racism. Yet the latter was integral to colonial rule,
its leitmotif: colonialism, after all, is institutionalised racism at its
crudest and most base. The majority of Chinese, the object of it, meanwhile,
harboured an equally racist mentality towards people of darker skin. Masters
of their own home, they too are in denial of their own racism. But that,
in varying degrees, is true of racism not only in Hong Kong but in every
country in the world...

The dominant race in a society, whether
white or otherwise, rarely admits to its own racism. Denial is near universal.
The reasons are manifold. It has a huge vested interest in its own privilege.
It will often be oblivious to its own prejudices. It will regard its racist
attitudes as nothing more than common sense, having the force and justification
of nature...

"I'm a racist. My students tell me so. They claim racism doesn't exist
in our society anymore. Therefore, anyone who brings up race when analyzing
injustice is a racist. According to them, I fit the bill. I teach high
school social studies in Portland, OR. Most of my students are white; so
am I. Some still use the word "colored" when referring to African Americans..."

This study aims to explore the expression
of racism within the gay community. Particular attention will be paid to
the experience of using gay venues and services by Black and South Asian
gay men, and other men who have sex with men. This focus aims to highlight
both the ways in which racism inhibits access to services and the attempts
of service providers to address the problem.

Following a literature review, focus
groups and one-to-one interviews have been conducted with 20 Black and
South Asian men, aged between 20 and 40, who were recruited through agency
networks and research contacts.

Participants were asked about their
experiences of racism. This work was undertaken in co-operation with five
Black and Asian non-governmental organisations with experience of working
with gay men and other men who have sex with men. The final report will
be disseminated to gay organisations and other service providers.